"It's not particularly exciting," she admitted. "That's probably why I'm doing adventure racing."

For guidance, the 28 year-old Los Angeles resident is looking to the Eco-Challenge. "I'm hoping that by doing this race, I'm going to be able to focus on what I want for my future," she said. "I'm hoping that something will happen during this race that will show me the way."

"I'd be lying if I said we wouldn't be disappointed if we came in at the back of the pack. But we're not making any predictions." Go to Team The North Face

Joining Spina in the line-up are Steve Duffy, Keith Byrne and Steve Watkins. Twenty-seven-year-old Duffy, an editor, hooked the team up with Byrne, 35, and Watkins, 34, who are lifelong friends. "They're very very close," said Spina of the duo. "They're also easy to get along with." Byrne works as a marketing manager and part-time stunt model, specializing in iceberg and waterfall jumps.

The British team, whose members are all Eco-Challenge rookies, first met about a year ago. Though none have ever done a race longer than 36 hours, Spina is not concerned. "We're pretty good at navigating," she said. "We're also good on the bikes. If we have a weakness, I would say it's probably going to be the river paddling."

Because Spina lives in Los Angeles and the rest of the team lives in England, they haven't had many opportunities to train together. Nevertheless, Spina has found time to travel to England for four long weekends over the past six months. "It's a long way to go, but it's a good excuse to leave work," she said with a laugh.

The infrequent group training sessions have been low-key. "We've done some canyoneering and we've done some canoeing," Spina said. "We've been running and we've done some bouldering as well. Just spending some time together."

Though Team The North Face is racing for the experience, Spina concedes some competitive aspirations. "I'd be lying if I said we wouldn't be disappointed if we came in at the back of the pack," she said. "But we're not making any predictions. I actually wouldn't be surprised if we do quite well." Spina, who moved to the U.S. five years ago from England to pursue her law career, continued: "Our goal is to just finish, but we also think we'll pick teams off one by one. We're going to start slow and pick up our pace as we go along."

Spina seems particularly calm about the race, though she admits some trepidation about the environment. "I'm pretty confident that we won't get lost," she said. "I think a lot of teams will though. What I'm most afraid of is something happening that we can't control."

Whether or not she has a life-altering revelation at Eco-Challenge she's looking forward to the process. "I do have a job to go to when I get back," she said. "I'm hoping that either I really want to go back to it or some other situation presents itself. I can't wait for that."

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